ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

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• Excess weight linked to brain changes that may relate to memory, emotions, and appetite
• Males and females differ in specific brain structures
• Scientists identify gene linking brain structure to intelligence
• Is an earthquake behind the Shroud of Turin image? Radiation from earthquake could have led to 'wrong' 1988 dating
• Crocodilians can climb trees and bask in the tree crowns
• Special glasses help surgeons 'see' cancer​​​​​​​​
• Flowing water on Mars appears likely but hard to prove: Studies examine puzzling summertime streaks
• With their amazing necks, ants don't need 'high hopes' to do heavy lifting
• Nanomotors are controlled, for the first time, inside living cells
• Cochlear implant with no exterior hardware can be wirelessly recharged
• Genome editing goes hi-fi: Innovative stem cell technique
• Valentine's Day advice: Don't let rocky past relations with parents spoil your romance
• Whole diet approach to lower cardiovascular risk has more evidence than low-fat diets

Excess weight linked to brain changes that may relate to memory, emotions, and appetite Posted: 11 Feb 2014 09:18 AM PST Being overweight appears related to reduced levels of a molecule that reflects brain cell health in the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in memory, learning, and emotions, and likely also involved in appetite control, according to a new study.

Males and females differ in specific brain structures Posted: 11 Feb 2014 06:42 AM PST Reviewing over 20 years of neuroscience research into sex differences in brain structure, researchers have conducted the first meta-analysis of the evidence. The team performed a quantitative review of the brain imaging literature testing overall sex differences in total and regional brain volumes. They found that males on average have larger total brain volumes than women (by 8 to 13 percent). Looking more closely, the researchers found differences in volume between the sexes were located in several regions. These included parts of the limbic system, and the language system.

Scientists identify gene linking brain structure to intelligence Posted: 11 Feb 2014 05:40 AM PST For the first time, scientists have identified a gene linking the thickness of the grey matter in the brain to intelligence. Teenagers carrying a particular gene variant had a thinner cortex in the left cerebral hemisphere, particularly in the frontal and temporal lobes, and performed less well on tests for intellectual ability.

Is an earthquake behind the Shroud of Turin image? Radiation from earthquake could have led to 'wrong' 1988 dating Posted: 11 Feb 2014 05:40 AM PST Neutron radiation caused by 33 A.D. earthquake could have led to "wrong" 1988 radiocarbon dating of Shroud, suggest researchers. An earthquake in Old Jerusalem might be behind the famous image of the Shroud of Turin, says a group of researchers. They believe that neutron radiation caused by an earthquake could have induced the image of a crucified man - which many people believe to be that of Jesus - onto the length of linen cloth, and caused carbon-14 dating done on it in 1988 to be wrong.

Crocodilians can climb trees and bask in the tree crowns Posted: 10 Feb 2014 03:45 PM PST When most people envision crocodiles and alligators, they think of them waddling on the ground or wading in water -- not climbing trees. However, a new study has found that the reptiles can climb trees as far as the crowns.

Special glasses help surgeons 'see' cancer​​​​​​​​ Posted: 10 Feb 2014 03:42 PM PST High-tech glasses may help surgeons visualize cancer cells, which glow blue when viewed through the eyewear. The wearable technology, so new it's yet unnamed, was used during surgery for the first time today at Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine.

Flowing water on Mars appears likely but hard to prove: Studies examine puzzling summertime streaks Posted: 10 Feb 2014 01:12 PM PST Martian experts have known since 2011 that mysterious, possibly water-related streaks appear and disappear on the planet's surface. These features were given the descriptive name of recurring slope lineae (RSL) because of their shape, annual reappearance and occurrence generally on steep slopes such as crater walls. Researchers have been taking a closer look at this phenomenon, searching for minerals that RSL might leave in their wake, to try to understand the nature of these features: water-related or not?

With their amazing necks, ants don't need 'high hopes' to do heavy lifting Posted: 10 Feb 2014 01:12 PM PST Researchers have discovered that the neck joint of a common American field ant can withstand astounding pressures. Similar joints might enable future robots to mimic the ant's weight-lifting ability on earth and in space.

Nanomotors are controlled, for the first time, inside living cells Posted: 10 Feb 2014 06:53 AM PST Nanomotors have been controlled inside living cells for the first time, report a team of chemists and engineers. The scientists placed tiny rocket-shaped synthetic motors inside live human cells, propelled them with ultrasonic waves and steered them magnetically to spin and to battering against the cell membrane.

Cochlear implant with no exterior hardware can be wirelessly recharged Posted: 09 Feb 2014 12:24 PM PST Cochlear implants -- medical devices that electrically stimulate the auditory nerve -- have granted at least limited hearing to hundreds of thousands of people worldwide who otherwise would be totally deaf. Existing versions of the device, however, require that a disk-shaped transmitter about an inch in diameter be affixed to the skull, with a wire snaking down to a joint microphone and power source that looks like an oversized hearing aid around the patient's ear. Researchers have now developed a new, low-power signal-processing chip that could lead to a cochlear implant that requires no external hardware.

Genome editing goes hi-fi: Innovative stem cell technique Posted: 09 Feb 2014 12:24 PM PST Scientists have found a way to efficiently edit the human genome one letter at a time -- not only boosting researchers' ability to model human disease, but also paving the way for therapies that cure disease by fixing these so-called "bugs" in a patient's genetic code.

Valentine's Day advice: Don't let rocky past relations with parents spoil your romance Posted: 06 Feb 2014 07:11 AM PST The love between parents and teens -- however stormy or peaceful -- may influence whether those children are successful in romance, even up to 15 years later, according to a new study.

Whole diet approach to lower cardiovascular risk has more evidence than low-fat diets Posted: 06 Feb 2014 05:23 AM PST A study reveals that a whole diet approach, which focuses on increased intake of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and fish, has more evidence for reducing cardiovascular risk than strategies that focus exclusively on reduced dietary fat. This new study explains that while strictly low-fat diets have the ability to lower cholesterol, they are not as conclusive in reducing cardiac deaths.

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